Discover the Origin is a three year campaign, part funded by the EU to promote some of Europe’s finest food and wine products: Parma Ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Burgundy wines, Port and Douro Valley wines.

Discover the Origin is trying to encourage consumers to spend more time over meals, enjoying them as sociable occasions with friends and family, where delicious food is matched to the perfect wines to cut through hectic modern modes of living. These products give consumers the opportunity to use affordable luxury products and dine in the comfort of their own homes.

Thes delicious yet easy recipes have been created especially for Discover the Origin, in order to create the perfect nutritious and exciting new meal for your family and friends, without have to slave away in the kitchen.

Check out the website for more ideas on food and wine matchings and to see celebrity chefs in action cooking these innovative recipes! www.discovertheorigin.co.uk

Parma Ham-wrapped pork served on a bed of Savoy cabbage and roasted peppers, topped with a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese crisp

Wine suggestion: red Burgundy (Fixin premier cru or Nuits-St-Georges)

Serves 4

2 pork fillets
50g finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
knob of butter
2 shallots
50g fresh breadcrumbs
8 slices Parma Ham
1 Savoy cabbage
2 red peppers

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180oC. Cut the pork fillets in half and tie with butcher’s string to make each portion an even size. Heat a pan and brown the fillets. Return to the fridge to chill.

Meanwhile, make the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese crisps. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Divide the grated cheese into four piles on the baking tray, spread apart and press down to flatten slightly. Bake the cheese in the oven for 5 minutes or until just melted. Remove from the oven and, while the cheese crisps are hot, mould them around a small rolling pin to the desired shape. Leave to cool.

Finely chop the shallots. Gently fry with a small knob of butter. Cook until soft. Add the breadcrumbs and mix well. Chill in the fridge.

Remove the chilled pork fillets from the fridge and remove the string. Cover the fillets with a thin layer of the onion mixture and wrap each one in two slices of Parma Ham so they look like a neat parcel.

Put the fillets on a baking tray and place in the hot oven. Cook for about 20 minutes until the pork is cooked through.

Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve each portion on a bed of steamed cabbage and sliced, roasted red peppers and top with a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese crisp.

Parma Ham risotto with porcini mushrooms, peas and rocket, scattered with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shavings

Wine suggestion: white Burgundy (Chablis, Bouzeron, or Pouilly-Vinzelles)

Serves 4

50g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g risotto rice, such as carnaroli
300ml white wine
1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
knob of butter
150g Parma Ham, cut into thin strips
25g dried Porcini mushrooms (re-hydrate in warm water for 20 minutes)
4 tablespoons mascarpone
1 packet of rocket
200g peas or petit pois
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shavings, to serve

Melt the butter in a large, deep frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened.

Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated in butter then add the wine and stir for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring in each addition until absorbed. Keep ladling and stirring until the stock is finished and the rice is al dente but creamy – this will take about 20 minutes at a gentle simmer. Check the seasoning, cover and allow it to rest for 2-3 minutes.

Heat a knob of butter in a heavy-based frying pan, then add the Parma Ham and fry for 1 minute or until crisp. Add the Porcini to the pan and toss until they are cooked.

Add these ingredients to the rice, stirring the mascarpone, peas and rocket into the rice.

Serve immediately with large Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shavings scattered over the top.

Spiced pear tatin with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese puff pastry

Wine suggestion: 10-year-old Tawny Port

Serves 6

6 large firm Forelle or Comice pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
25g unsalted butter
25g demerara sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
350g ready-made puff pastry
150g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Clotted or Chantilly cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200oC.

Peel, halve and de-seed the pears. Cut each pear into quarters and toss in the lemon juice.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the sugar, orange zest, nutmeg and cinnamon. As the butter starts to sizzle, add the pears and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until the pears have started to caramelise.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Fold the pastry and re-roll into a 22 cm circle.

Transfer the pears to a shallow metal baking dish, measuring 20 cm diameter. Pour the excess caramelised butter over the pears then lift the pastry on top.

Crimp the pastry edges around the pears and make a couple of slits in the surface. Bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes.
Remove the pear tatin from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Invert on to a serving plate and serve with clotted or Chantilly cream.

Pasta al forno with Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Wine suggestion: Reserva red Douro
Serves 6

For the tomato sauce:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
75ml olive oil
salt and pepper, to season
3 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 sprig basil

For the meatballs:
250g minced pork
250g minced beef
75g salami, diced (optional)
125g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 medium eggs
5 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
salt to taste

For the pasta:
100g Parma Ham
4 eggs, for boiling
1 packet lasagne sheets (500g)
50g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
250g mozzarella, roughly torn into bite-size pieces
50ml olive oil (25ml for frying, 25ml for tossing with the pasta)

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180oC. Make the tomato sauce by frying the onions and garlic in the olive oil with the salt and pepper and when soft add the tinned tomatoes and basil. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Stir frequently, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl. Roll into marble-sized balls (wet hands may help with this).

Boil the eggs. Meanwhile, lightly fry the meatballs and Parma Ham in olive oil and drain on kitchen paper. When the eggs are done, crack the shells and drop them into cold water to stop blue rings appearing.

Mix together the cheeses. Shell the eggs and chop them into rough pieces.

In a large lasagne dish, put a thin layer of tomato sauce followed by the lasagne sheets then cover with some more tomato sauce. Scatter over some of the meatballs, chopped eggs, mixed cheese and Parma Ham. Build the lasagne in layers until it fills the dish, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce and cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Serve the lasagne with mixed, dressed salad leaves.